"was done responsibly so hats off to the Scouts for that"

That said, this scouts metal detecting session
does come across well to the public at large and
was done responsibly so hats off to the Scouts for that.
Bremen 17/10/2013 at 14:48

"Here drink this, don't be sad,
you'll get a Minelab hat from the
nice man next time"?
(edited version of photo of unstated
authorship from Minelab
facebook page about event)

There is an open letter on the Heritage Journal "To the parents of the youngsters invited to the “scouts metal detecting rally” - 13/10/2013) which is attracting the usual metal detectorist troll sock-puppets that infest the blogosphere. It concerns a " scout group metal detecting rally at Laverstoke Park, Hampshire", they were "clearing fields with detectors", sponsored by a well-known site-grubbing-machine manufacturer and sadly some scouts were induced to take part. There is a Facebook page with photos of little boys and big older men taking them through the ropes. Surprise surprise, it's the "Minelab" facebook page !!

Here a small boy and his dad look on admiringly as a large gentleman writes a secret code on the Responsibility Bag. What could it be he is writing. Is that a GPS in that dinker little hip-pouch he's sporting?

(edited version of photo of unstated
authorship from Minelab
facebook page about event)

 photo 15 shows the "responsibility code".

(unedited version of photo of unstated
authorship from Minelab
facebook page about event)

Sadly when you look closely, you see only the finder's name and date, not where in the field the item was found, nor  with what. There is no possibility from artefacts recorded in such a manner to determine the spread of artefacts across the search area, to identify concentrations, zoning of activities, or compare the results obtained from this year's search with that of next year, is there? So these numbers are not "responsibility" are they? They are not teaching best practice (from Minelab website: "Hopefully their experience during the day will lead some of them to take up the hobby in its own right" - hence the goodie bags and other prizes supplied by the firm). This is not something that "helps" archaeology, it's just depleting any archaeological record present in the search area without adequate record. In archaeological terms, it is erosion. 

UPDATE 18.10.13: It seems two of the Roman coins were not found by the Scouts, but by attendant metal detectorists. Did they too get recorded alongside the Scouts' finds at the SDG finds table in full sight of the attendees? What now happens to those records and finds?